As with England in international cricket which set much store by all out aggression, SRH (Sunrisers Hyderabad) too has been found out for having no backup plan. The Hyderabad  franchise which stormed through much of IPL 2024 with swashbuckling batting was, however, stumped for strategy in the finals last year.  

This year, SRH retained the batting core of last year and also added the blazing batting of Ishan Kishan to the mix. In its very first match, it pulverised 286 against RR with Kishan exploding with a thunderbolt century. But since then its top-order (Travis Head, Abhishek Varma, Heinrich Klaasen, Kishan) has come unstuck. And the team has no real Plan B.

Last night against KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders)  --- a repeat of last year's finals --- the story was no different as the top 3 was back in the hut in first six overs, and the Pat Cummins-led side looked clueless as it slumped to a 80-run defeat --- its heavies in terms of runs. Chasing a target of 201, it broke down at 120 in 16.4 overs. A sorry performance, really. 

It is clear that the team lacks a dependable anchor who can steer the innings through tricky phases, resulting in collapses when early wickets fall. On the bowling front too, despite individual talent, the attack has struggled with execution and adaptability. Last night, Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh bludgeoned the attack in the death overs.

SRH must quickly consider implementing a backup idea to regain its footing in the tournament. It can rework the batting order, reassign roles to bring and revamp bowling strategies.

With the competition heating up, SRH faces the pressing need to adopt tactical flexibility and make personnel adjustments. 

For a team which was widely considered the topper at the auction table, the current position of being last in the points table is ironic.